Japanese petroleum firm plans 10MW mega solar plant

A new entrant in solar business.

Japanese petroleum and geothermal company Idemitsu Kosan has announced its entry into the solar business with plans for a “mega solar” installation at one of its former refinery sites.

Spurred by Japan’s newly introduced feed-in tariff, the company is planning to build a 10MW solar array on the empty site of its Hyogo refinery in Himeji city.

Scheduled to start operation in March 2014, the plant is expected to have an annual output of 13 million kW/h.

In a statement, the company said: “Idemitsu is continuing to consider further expansion of its renewable energy business from this point onward in order to also contribute to the establishment of the best mix of Japan’s energy supply and securing of domestic energy sources.”

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